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Can Trump turn midterm defeat into Iran breakthrough?

Although Iran may have contributed to Republican losses in midterms, the Trump administration still has a historic opportunity in the Middle East.

A protest sign is seen near the White House the day after Election Day

Feature

Emboldened Democrats gear up to challenge Trump over Iran war, Gulf business ties

Democrats are weighing options to enforce Congress’ authority to declare war.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Latest News

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

From Tehran to Tel Aviv, Democrats’ midterm triumph sparks Middle East reactions

The sun sets on the US Capitol on Election Day evening on Nov. 3, 2026 in Washington.

'Generational wipeout': Democratic gains to reshape Trump's final years

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

US embassy charge d'affaires Jeffrey Hovenier (L) leaves the Caglayan courthouse on May 15, 2019, in Istanbul, after US consular staffer Metin Topuz was ordered to remain in custody after the latest hearing in his trial on espionage charges -- part of a growing rift between Washington and Ankara. - Topuz was arrested in 2017 and accused of contacts with police and a prosecutor suspected of ties to US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says ordered an attempted coup in 2016. (Photo by Bulent

Intel: How Congress is trying to get US prisoners out of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid - HP1EF9O186P9I

Erdogan's Syria plan: Resettling the Syrian refugees or ousting Kurds from their land?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks in United Nations indicate that Turkey has dangerous intentions about the east of Euphrates.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC18F8550D40

What Sisi-Trump meeting means for US-Egyptian relations

US President Donald Trump met with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss bilateral relations and Egypt’s counterterrorism efforts in New York recently.

Iran enrichment may hit 20% if impasse drags on

Iran could be on the way to upgrading its nuclear technology to industrial levels after suspending its nuclear deal obligations for the third time since May.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani walks with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres as they meet on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Yana Paskova - HP1EF9P1DL8HJ

Lost opportunity? Rouhani departs NY without meeting Trump

A US-Iran breakthrough seems elusive after attacks on Saudi Arabia.

A Palestinian demonstrator holds a United Nations' flag during a rally against a U.S. decision to cut funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and in support of president Mahmoud Abbas, in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RC19AEA408D0

Donor countries stand by UN Palestinian refugee agency despite corruption probe

The Trump administration skipped today's pledging conference co-hosted by Jordan and Sweden.

Iran's supreme leader says it’s time to move on from Europe

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has signaled that there remains no hope in Europe’s ability to save the 2015 nuclear deal.

Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, speaks with Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during a meeting among remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal at United Nations headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Yana Paskova - HP1EF9P13PXEY

US and world powers continue to talk past each other on Iran at UN

While the remaining parties to the nuclear deal tried to restart diplomacy with Iran, the United States punished one of them for links to Tehran.

NEW YORK, USA - SEPTEMBER 25: (----EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT - "IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS----) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) on the sidelines of the 74th session of UN General Assembly in New York, United States on September 25, 2019. (Photo by Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Iran's hard-liners tell Rouhani to seek solutions at home, not in New York

The Iranian president has drawn the ire of his uncompromising domestic critics after sitting down with Western leaders in New York.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds up a map as he addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid - HP1EF9O181E99

Erdogan pushes Syrian safe zone at UN

As many as three million refugees could be settled in northeast Syria if Turkey establishes a buffer zone along its border, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told world leaders at the United Nations summit, though a meeting to persuade US President Donald Trump did not materialize.

Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces members guard near the building belonging to a Popular Mobilization Forces in Basra, Iraq September 8, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani - RC1209B9A4C0

PMU under pressure to integrate into Iraqi state

Following dramatic changes in the leadership of the Popular Mobilization Units, two rockets hit near the US Embassy in Baghdad, signaling discontent with the move.

Local fishermen move their boat to a safe place during Cyclone Gonu in Jusk seaport, 2000 km (1240 miles) southeast of Tehran, June 6, 2007. Iran does not expect any disruption to oil exports from a cyclone that swept nearby Oman for a second day on Wednesday, a senior Iranian oil official said. REUTERS/Rezvani/Fars News (IRAN) - GM1DVKSEXTAA

Iranian fishermen feel waves of tension from the US

Friction between the West and Iran threatens to rile the waters for fishermen near the Strait of Hormuz.